Reolink VLC 422
Reolink
I do not recommend using Reolink cameras. The firmware seems buggy (see links below), and the support is unhelpful (in my experience).
VLC 422
This is a PoE IP dome camera, which I initially thought was a very nice replacement for my aged analogue camera connected to a video-capture card.
However, since installing it, I've had very frequent problems with the image being corrupted in various ways, leading to false alarms in zoneminder, which looks for changes in areas of the image to trigger alerts.
I've upgraded to the latest firmware (which their support people sent me; it wasn't downloadable from their website), which made no difference, and I've had quite lengthy discussions with Reolink support, and tried out every adjustment they've suggested. They think the hardware is at fault, and they won't replace it under warranty (because it wasn't purchased directly from them). Their best offer is 10% off the price of a refurbished camera.
Anyway, here are some notes on using the camera with zoneminder, just in case I find a way to keep using it instead of replacing it with another camera (which won't be a Reolink).
- rtsp://user:pass@198.51.100.42:554/h264Preview_01_main - H.264 high resolution / bandwidth
- rtsp://user:pass@198.51.100.42:554/h264Preview_01_sub - H.264 low resolution / bandwidth
- rtsp://user:pass@198.51.100.42:554/ - JPEG
Note that the "low resolution / bandwidth" is really low resolution - this is a "5 megapixel" camera (2560 x 1920), and using it like this gives you worse than VGA (640 x 360, or 0.23 megapixels).
Update
I am certainly not the only person who's had problems using Reolink cameras.
The last link in particular looks especially helpful.
By using the RTMP protocol and a low frame rate I've confirmed that my hardware is not faulty, despite Reolink support's diagnosis.
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